CN105739941B - Method for operating computer and computer - Google Patents

Method for operating computer and computer Download PDF

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Publication number
CN105739941B
CN105739941B CN201511017985.XA CN201511017985A CN105739941B CN 105739941 B CN105739941 B CN 105739941B CN 201511017985 A CN201511017985 A CN 201511017985A CN 105739941 B CN105739941 B CN 105739941B
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audio
signal
sound interface
sound
computer
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CN105739941A (en
Inventor
托马兹·戈尔德曼
斯特凡·海泽
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GN Audio AS
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GN Netcom AS
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/16—Sound input; Sound output
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R1/10—Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones
    • H04R1/1041—Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/16—Sound input; Sound output
    • G06F3/162—Interface to dedicated audio devices, e.g. audio drivers, interface to CODECs
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/16—Sound input; Sound output
    • G06F3/165—Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R27/00—Public address systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R2201/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones covered by H04R1/00 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
    • H04R2201/10—Details of earpieces, attachments therefor, earphones or monophonic headphones covered by H04R1/10 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
    • H04R2201/107—Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of operating a computer and a computer. The computer is controlled by an operating system that provides an audio subsystem that allows a plurality of application programs executed by the computer to exchange audio signals with a plurality of sound interface devices, the method comprising: receiving a first audio output signal from a first application; providing a first speaker audio signal to the audio subsystem in accordance with the first audio output signal, thereby causing the first sound interface device to emit a first speaker sound signal in accordance with the first speaker audio signal; receiving a first microphone audio signal from the audio subsystem in accordance with a first microphone audio signal received by the first sound interface device; providing a first audio input signal to a first application in accordance with a first microphone audio signal; and providing a second speaker audio signal to the audio subsystem based on the first audio output signal and the first microphone audio signal, thereby causing the second acoustic interface device to emit a second speaker sound signal based on the second speaker audio signal.

Description

Method for operating computer and computer
Technical Field
The invention relates to a method of operating a computer and a computer. The method and computer may be advantageously used during a conversation with a remote end, for example, through a softphone application executed by the computer.
Background
The operating systems of most personal computers and other general purpose computers allow software applications to access internal and external sound devices through the audio subsystem. Typically, the operating system and/or application programs are implemented such that a user may select one audio input device and one audio output device from a plurality of sound devices connected to the computer, for example, through respective USB connections. While such implementations allow users to simply interact with the application, they also limit the use of the application and may, for example, prevent two people from listening to the same music played by the computer with each of their headphones at the same time.
Patent application EP 2544096 a1 discloses an apparatus that can connect a USB host device in a computer with two or more USB devices, such as headphones or other audio devices. The apparatus may include a splitter (splitter) that splits an audio signal received from the USB host device into two or more audio signals and provides the latter to the respective audio devices. The apparatus may further include a mixer that mixes two or more audio signals received from the respective audio devices and provides the mixed signals to the USB host device. Since the device includes hardware, production costs are incurred, and the versatility of the device is further limited by the design.
The so-called "virtual audio line" (VAC) known from the prior art allows audio signals to be separated and/or mixed by software means only, so that additional hardware costs can be avoided. Although the known VAC is more functional than a hardware solution, there are still use cases involving multiple audio devices that the prior art cannot support.
Disclosure of Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of operating a computer that can allow an audio device having an audio application program executed by the computer to be used in multiple functions. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a computer that can allow an audio device having an audio application program executed by the computer to be used with multiple functions. These and other objects of the invention are achieved by the invention defined in the independent claims and further illustrated in the following description. Further objects of the invention are achieved by the embodiments defined in the dependent claims and the detailed description of the invention.
In this document, the term "sound interface" refers to an interface adapted to transmit audio signals to a user in dependence of audio output signals and/or to provide audio input signals in dependence of sound received from a user. The term "sound interface device" refers to an audio device that includes or provides a sound interface. The sound interface device thus comprises a sound emitter and/or a sound receiver. An "acoustic output device" is an acoustic interface device that includes one or more acoustic transmitters, and an "acoustic input device" is an acoustic interface device that includes one or more audio receivers. The acoustic transmitter preferably comprises one or more acoustic output transducers for providing an audio signal in dependence on the audio output signal. The audio receiver preferably comprises one or more sound input transducers for providing an audio input signal in dependence on received sound. Known examples of sound output transducers include loudspeakers and vibrators based on e.g. electro-mechanical, electro-magnetic, electro-static, piezoelectric and/or thermo-electric principles. Known examples of sound input transducers include microphones and vibration sensors, for example based on electromechanical, electromagnetic, electrostatic, piezoelectric, pyroelectric and/or optical principles. Examples of sound interface devices include cell phones, headsets, headphones, earphones, speakers, microphones, and speakerphones.
Further, when an element or entity is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element or entity, this includes direct connection (or coupling) as well as connection (or coupling) through intermediate elements or entities, unless expressly stated otherwise. Likewise, unless expressly stated otherwise, when a signal is referred to as being "provided" or "communicated" by a first entity to a second entity, this includes any direct or indirect transmission that directly or indirectly transmits the signal in its original form, as well as any direct or indirect transmission that modifies the original signal and/or converts the signal into another domain name and/or representation before reaching the second entity, so long as the information constituted by the signal received by the second entity is sufficient for the second entity to perform the specified action with respect to the received signal.
In this document, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well (i.e., to have the meaning "at least one"), unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Accordingly, the terms "having", "including", "comprising", "having", "including", "comprising" and "comprising" specify the presence of the respective features, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of further entities. The term "and/or" generally includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated items. The steps or operations of any method disclosed herein need not be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Drawings
The present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,
figure 1 shows a computer operable by a method according to the invention,
figure 2 shows a first embodiment of a computer according to the invention,
figure 3 shows a second embodiment of a computer according to the invention,
figure 4 shows an example of a virtual crossbar constructed by embodiments of the present invention,
figure 5 shows further details of the virtual crossbar of figure 4,
figure 6 illustrates a first example of a configuration template that may be used in embodiments of the present invention,
figure 7 illustrates a second example of a configuration template that may be used in embodiments of the present invention,
figure 8 illustrates a third example of a configuration template that may be used with embodiments of the present invention,
FIG. 9 shows a fourth example of a configuration template that may be used with embodiments of the present invention, an
Fig. 10 illustrates a headset that may be used with the computer and/or method of the present invention.
The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they show only details that are essential to the understanding of the invention, while other details may be omitted. In practice, like reference numbers and/or designations are used for the same or corresponding parts.
Detailed Description
The computer 1 shown in fig. 1 includes a processor 2, a device controller 3, and a memory 4. The memory 4 stores instructions for causing the processor 2 to execute an operating system 5 and one or more application programs 6. The operating system 5 controls the computer 1 and provides an Application Program Interface (API) so that the application program 6 can access resources on the computer 1 and devices connected to the computer 1 through the operating system 5 and the device controller 3 in a standardized manner. The operating system 5 includes an audio subsystem 7 that allows the application 6 to communicate with a plurality of audio devices, such as 3 headphones 8 shown connected to the computer 1. The illustrated headset 8 represents a plurality of types of sound interface devices that may communicate by voice with/through the computer 1. The interface between the audio subsystem 7 and the application 6 is made up of APIs and allows the application 6 to transmit audio signals to/from headphones 8 and/or other sound interface devices. The API further allows the application 6 to exchange information, instructions, and other data with other types of devices, such as storage devices, displays, keyboards, mice, etc. (not shown).
Each acoustic interface device 8 is connected to the device controller 3 by a respective connector 9, which connectors 9 may be wired or wireless, for example by an optical or RF connection, for example a bluetooth connection or a DECT connection. The device controller 3 is controlled by the operating system 5 through one or more device drivers 10, which device drivers 10 process device specific signals, data transformations, etc. on a logical level. The device controller 3 may comprise, for example, a USB host apparatus, and the one or more connectors 9 may comprise USB connectors.
Accordingly, one or more of the sound interface devices 8 may each comprise a USB device that "enumerates" (registers) with the USB host device, since the USB device is capable of providing and/or receiving one or more audio signals, for example registering the USB interface as an "audio" class. Further details regarding USB may be found in the specification of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard.
The memory 4 may preferably comprise a non-volatile memory, such as RAM with a battery backup, ROM, flash memory, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., so that an operating system 5 and one or more application programs 6 may be installed in the computer 1 by writing corresponding execution instructions to the memory 4. The types of memory 4 that can be used are well known in the computer art. Alternatively, the memory 4 may be volatile and the execution instructions may be loaded from another storage medium (not shown), for example, at the start-up of the computer 1. The computer 1 may further comprise a working memory (not shown) from which at least some of the execution instructions are loaded/retrieved by the processor 2 when required.
It should be noted that in the figures herein, narrow arrows (e.g., two arrows 11) represent unidirectional audio connections, while thick arrows (e.g., arrow 12) represent unidirectional or bidirectional data connections primarily for other kinds of signals (e.g., control signals to control, for example, the device controller 3, the memory 4, the application 6, the audio device 8, etc.).
The API provides a plurality of logical audio devices X, Y, Z to the application 6. Each of the logical audio devices X, Y, Z may represent a physical audio device 8. Each application 6 allows the user to select among the available logical audio devices X, Y, Z-and thus from the representative audio devices 8-one device for audio input and one device for audio output, respectively. Typically, each application 6 presents a list of available logical audio devices X, Y, Z-typically labeled to allow the user to infer a representative physical audio device 8 so that the user can select logical audio device X, Y, Z so that the corresponding audio device 8 that the user prefers to use is for the particular application 6. The application 6 informs the operating system 5 of the user's selection, and the operating system 5 then communicates audio signals between the application 6 and the physical audio devices 8 represented by the respective logical audio devices X, Y, Z. In fig. 1, application 6a is connected to logical audio device X and therefore exchanges audio signals with sound interface device 8i, while application 6b is connected to logical audio device Z and therefore exchanges audio signals with sound interface device 8 k.
The concepts described above are well known in the art and are implemented in a number of prior art computers and computer operating systems. Reference herein to a computer being a general purpose computer means that the computer can be used for a number of different purposes and allows a user to install and execute a number of application programs to support these different purposes. Examples of such computers include personal computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, smart phones, and the like.
In the first embodiment of the computer 1 according to the present invention shown in fig. 2, the memory 4 may preferably further store instructions for causing the processor 2 to execute an intermediate application comprising a virtual crossbar 21. As used herein, an "intermediate application" is one that extends or modifies the operating system 5One or more applications that function to process one or more signals between one or more other applications 6 and the operating system 5. Virtual crossbar 21 may receive audio signals from one or more applications 6 and/or operating systems 5 and may be configured to combine the received audio signals in a variety of ways and provide the combined signals to one or more applications 6 and/or operating systems 5. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the virtual crossbar 21 provides further logical audio devices W to other applications 6 and is further connectable to any or all of the logical audio devices X, Y, Z provided by the audio subsystem 7. Hereinafter, any logical audio device W provided directly or indirectly through the virtual crossbar switch 21 is referred to as a "secondary" logical audio device, while all other logical audio devices X, Y, Z are referred to as "primary" logical audio devices. The virtual crossbar 21 may thus receive audio output signals W from one or more applications 60And/or receive respective microphone audio signals X from one or more primary logical audio devices X, Y, Zm、Ym、ZmAs the cross input. Depending on its internal configuration, the virtual crossbar 21 may provide audio input signals W to one or more applications 6iAnd/or provide corresponding speaker audio signals X to one or more primary logical audio devices X, Y, Zs、Ys、ZsAs interleaved outputs, wherein each interleaved output Wi、Xs、Ys、ZsMay include any number of cross inputs Wo、Xm、Ym、ZmAny combination of (a).
Depending on its internal configuration, virtual crossbar 21 may thus at least indirectly connect two-level logical audio devices W to any number of actual audio devices 8. Thus, the virtual crossbar switch 21 itself may be considered to be a virtual audio device having one or more audio inputs and/or audio outputs, and the two-stage logical audio device W may be considered to represent the virtual audio device provided by the virtual crossbar switch 21. Thus, for any application 6, the user may select virtual crossbar 21 as the preferred (virtual) audio device for audio input and/or audio output in the same manner as physical audio device 8 is selected. As an example thereof, application 6a is shown connected to a secondary logical audio device W, while application 6b is shown connected to the same primary logical audio device Z as shown in fig. 1. As will be explained further below, the concept of providing a virtual crossbar 21 represented by a two-level logical audio device W may provide a user with an easily understandable, easily operable method of controlling a plurality of sound interface devices 8 and one or more audio applications 6. The secondary logical audio device W may preferably provide a tag such that the application 6 and/or a user may identify the secondary logical audio device W or its functionality when the preferred logical audio device W, X, Y, Z for audio input and/or audio output is selected with the application 6.
In some embodiments, the virtual crossbar switch 21 may provide a plurality of two-level logical audio devices W, each representing a respective virtual audio device having a respective set of audio inputs and/or audio outputs. Accordingly, a plurality of secondary logical audio devices W may preferably be individually labeled. For example, the user may want to play music from the music application 6b using the speakerphone 8k, using the headset 8i as the sound interface device for the softphone application 6 a. The user may thus configure the virtual crossbar switch 21 to connect a first primary logical audio device X representing the headset 8i to a first secondary logical audio device W and a second primary logical audio device Z representing the speakerphone 8k to a second secondary logical audio device (not shown). In this example, the label for the first secondary logical audio device W may preferably comprise the words "telephone" or the like, while the label for the second secondary logical audio device preferably comprises the words "music" such that the user may simply distinguish the secondary logical audio devices W from one another when the preferred logical audio device W, X, Y, Z is selected for the respective application 6a, 6 b.
Fig. 3 shows a second similar embodiment, in which the virtual crossbar 21 is connected as a virtual audio device to a further device driver 31 of the audio subsystem 7, instead of providing the two-level logical audio directlyDevice W such that the operating program 5 provides a two-level logical audio device W. In this embodiment, the virtual crossbar 21 indirectly exchanges audio output signals W with one or more applications 6 through the audio subsystem 7oAnd an audio input signal Wi. Likewise, in this embodiment, the virtual crossbar switch 21 may provide a plurality of two-level logical audio devices W as a plurality of virtual audio devices through respective further device drivers 31 connected to the audio subsystem 7. While any of the first and second embodiments of the computer 1 may comprise various further embodiments of the computer 1 according to the invention and may further be adopted by embodiments of the method according to the invention, the choice of which in a particular implementation may depend on the capabilities of the particular operating program 5 in use, e.g. on whether the operating program 5 allows the intermediate application 21 to be connected as a virtual audio device to the audio subsystem 7. The second embodiment may in some instances allow seamless integration of the virtual crossbar 21 with the operating system 5 and the application 6 so that the computer 1 may function as described above without requiring changes to the operating system 5 or the application 6, however, although for some operating systems 5 it may be desirable to provide and install further device drivers 31 as custom device drivers.
Fig. 4 shows an example virtual crossbar 21 that may be formed by embodiments of the computer 1 according to the invention, such as the first or second embodiment described above, and that may further be employed by embodiments of the method according to the invention. The virtual crossbar 21 includes a pre-processor 41, a post-processor 42, a switch matrix 43, and a crossbar controller 44.
The pre-processor 41 will cross over the input W received by the virtual cross over switch 21o、Xm、Ym、ZmTo the respective matrix inputs 45 of the switch matrix 43. The pre-processor 41 may preferably pre-process the cross-input Wo、Xm、Ym、ZmAnd provides the preprocessed cross-inputs to the matrix input 45. Post-processor 42 provides interleaving by passing individual audio signals from output matrix 46 of switch matrix 43Output Wi、Xs、Ys、Zs. Post-processor 42 may preferably post-process the signals from output matrix 46 and provide post-processed cross-outputs Wi、Xs、Ys、Zs. The pre-and/or post-processing procedures may include any combination of any known audio signal processing (e.g., signal level normalization, frequency domain filtering, noise reduction and silencing or echo and reverberation reduction, etc.). In some embodiments, pre-processor 41 and post-processor 42 may communicate with each other to improve pre-and/or post-processing procedures. In some embodiments, pre-processor 41 and/or post-processor 42 may provide a software interface that allows installation of plug-ins that execute at least in part in the pre-and/or post-processor.
Switch matrix 43 outputs W for each crossoveri、Xs、Ys、ZsMay include utilizing each of the cross inputs Wo、Xm、Ym、ZmTo an adder 47 of an input 48. The switch matrix 43 may further comprise for each adder input 48 a controllable switch 49 allowing the respective adder input 48 and the respective cross input Wo、Xm、Ym、ZmConnected or disconnected. In some embodiments, one or more of the controllable switches 49 may be replaced or supplemented by controllable attenuators or amplifiers (not shown), respectively, such that the crossover input W is connected or disconnected with the corresponding adder input 48o、Xm、Ym、ZmCan be faded in and out.
The crossover controller 44 is preferably based on a crossover control signal C received from a configuration controller 51 (see FIG. 5)cControls the pre-processor 41, the post-processor 42 and/or the switch matrix 43. Such control may include, for example, determining one or more pre-and/or post-processing algorithms and/or one or more parameters therefor, determining and/or invoking one or more pre-and/or post-processing plug-ins, controlling one or more adders 47, configuring and/or interrupting one or more controllable switches 49, and controlling one or more controllable attenuators and/or one or more controllable amplifiers to obtain crossover control signal CcThe function of the indication. The crossover controller 44 may preferably further provide a crossover status signal S to the configuration controller 51c(which indicates the state of pre-processor 41, the state of post-processor 42, and/or the state of switch matrix 43). Such status may include, for example, an indication of whether the respective function block 41, 42, 43 is active and/or whether one or more signals are received and the level of the received and/or provided signals, etc.
As shown in FIG. 5, virtual crossbar 21 may further include a configuration controller 51 that is responsive to one or more computer state signals S received from operating system 5 and/or audio subsystem 7, respectivelyo、SaBy crossing control signal CcControls the crossover controller 44. The configuration controller 51 may preferably monitor the one or more computer status signals So、SaTo determine which of the sound interface device 8 and/or other audio devices is connected to the current computer 1 to detect a change thereof and/or to detect a user action, such as operation of the user interface 52 of the computer 1 and/or operation of a control element of the sound interface device 8. The configuration controller 51 may communicate with a configuration memory 53 of the computer 1, which will be described further below.
The configuration controller 51 may be responsive to a cross status signal S received from the cross controller 44cAnd/or according to one or more computer status signals So、SaFurther providing respective computer control signals C to the operating system 5 and/or the audio subsystem 7o、Ca. The configuration controller 51 may control the signal C at the computero、CaProvide commands that may cause the operating system 5 and/or audio subsystem 7 to connect and/or disconnect, for example, with a particular sound interface device 8 and/or other audio device, to prompt the user to select a preferred audio device 8, 21 for audio input and/or output to the application 6, prompt the user for other selections as described further below in connection with fig. 6-9, prompt the user for changes to the currently connected sound interface device 8 and/or other audio device, provide responses to user actions, and so forth. The operator system 5 may provide such prompts, reminders and/or responses through the user interface 52. Or, thisIn addition, operating system 5 may provide such prompts, reminders and/or responses to one or more of the sound interface devices 8 in the form of audio signals, thereby causing the latter to provide the prompts, reminders and/or responses as audible sound signals.
Configuration controller 51 may preferably determine a device connection status for each sound interface device 8 (which indicates whether the respective sound interface device 8 is available for audio signal exchange through audio subsystem 7). Configuration controller 51 may further determine the device connection status of the connected sound interface device 8 based on whether the microphone of sound interface device 8 is muted, thus determining that, for example, the connected sound interface device 8 with the muted microphone is not available for the exchange of audio signals. The configuration controller 51 may preferably further determine a device type and/or a device identity for each of the sound interface devices 8, the respective device connection status of which indicates the availability of audio signal exchange through the audio subsystem. Such a sound interface device 8 is hereinafter referred to as a usable sound interface device 8.
The configuration controller 51 is responsive to the computer status signal So、SaSuch as a type indication or serial number of the sound interface device 8, preferably determines the device connection status, the device type and/or the device identity. The configuration controller 51 may preferably maintain a record of previously available sound interface devices 8 based on, for example, their device type and/or device identity, so that such sound interface devices 8 can be identified when connected and/or available again. Configuration controller 51 may preferably control the internal configuration of virtual crossbar 21 based on the determined device connection status, device type, and/or device identity, such that input summer 48 and thus crossbar input Wo、Xm、Ym、ZmAnd/or pre-or post-treatment program connection or disconnection.
The configuration controller 51 may preferably control the internal configuration of the virtual crossbar 21 according to one or more configuration templates 61 (e.g., the first example configuration template 61a shown in fig. 6). Each configuration template 61 specifies one or more audio sources 62, 63, one or more audio receivers 64, 65, and one or more audio connections 66 (which will each be separately connected)The audio sources 62, 63 are connected to audio receivers 64, 65). Each of the one or more audio sources 62, 63 and the one or more audio receivers 64, 65 is associated with a device placeholder 67 or an application placeholder 68. Each device placeholder 67 represents a primary logical audio device X, Y, Z, and each application placeholder 68 represents a secondary logical audio device W to which any application 6 can be connected. Thus, each audio source 62 associated with a device placeholder 67 represents a microphone signal Xm、Ym、ZmOr other audio input signal received from the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z represented by the particular device placeholder 67, each audio source 63 associated with an application placeholder 68 represents an audio output signal W received from any application 6 via the secondary logical audio device WoEach audio receiver 64 associated with a device placeholder 67 represents a speaker signal Xs、Ys、ZsOr other audio output signal, to the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z represented by the particular device placeholder 67, each audio receiver 65 associated with an application placeholder 68 represents an audio input signal W provided to any application 6 via the secondary logical audio device Wi。
The one or more configuration templates 61 may further specify the cross-inputs W to be applied too、Xm、Ym、ZmThe configuration controller 51 may preferably control the pre-processor 41 according to the pre-processing specified by one or more configuration templates 61. Likewise, one or more configuration templates 61 may further specify post-processing to be applied to one or more audio signals from the output matrix 46, and the configuration controller 51 may preferably control the post-processor 42 in accordance with the post-processing specified by the one or more configuration templates 61. The configuration template 61 may specify pre-or post-processing by, for example, specifying a specific algorithm or a specific plug-in and/or one or more parameters for an algorithm or plug-in, and accordingly the configuration controller 51 may preferably control the pre-and post-processors 41, 42.
Thus, each configuration template 61 specifies the routing and/or processing of audio signals within the virtual crossbar 21 between one or more primary logical audio devices X, Y, Z and/or one or more secondary logical audio devices W. Each primary logical audio device X, Y, Z represents a sound interface device 8 or other audio device, and each configuration template 61 may preferably further specify the device type and/or device identity of such audio device 8. Thus, each configuration template 61 may specify a corresponding sound interface configuration. In the following example, it is assumed that the application 6a comprises a softphone, and is therefore referred to as a softphone application. The term "softphone" refers to a general-purpose computer software-based implementation of telephone-like functionality, e.g., widely used software applications that enable IP network telephony to be available on personal computers, laptops, smartphones, etc. Each configuration template 61 may further specify that one or more audio devices 8 should be hidden from a particular application 6, such as a communication application 6a described further below in connection with fig. 10.
The first example configuration template 61a shown in fig. 6 specifies the audio signal routing according to a "trainee-supervisor configuration", which can preferably be used for the use example, where the trainee (user) is engaged in a softphone call using a headset 8i executed by the computer 1 and a softphone application 6a, where the trainee's supervisor listens to the call using a further headset 8k and should be able to verbally guide the trainee through the headsets 8i, 8k without being heard by the remote end of the phone. To implement the above scenario, the trainee-administrator configuration template 61a includes:
a first device placeholder 67a, representing the trainee's headset 8i, having a first audio source 62a and a first audio receiver 64a,
a second device placeholder 67b, representing the manager's headset 8k, having a second audio source 62b and a second audio receiver 64b, and
an application placeholder 68, representing the softphone application 6a (or any other application 6), with a third audio source 63 and a third audio receiver 65,
and further specifies:
the first audio source 62a is connected to the second audio receiver 64b via a first audio connection 66a and to the third audio receiver 65 via a second audio connection 66 b;
the second audio source 62b is connected only to the first audio receiver 64a via a third audio connection 66 c; and
the third audio source 63 is connected to the first audio sink 64a via a fourth audio connection 66d and to the second audio sink 64b via a fifth audio connection 66 e.
The trainee-administrator configuration template 61a may further specify that the first device placeholder 67a represents a sound interface device 8 having the same device type "headset" and device identity as the trainee's headset 8i normally used for softphone calls. The trainee-administrator configuration template 61a may further specify that the second device placeholder 67b represents a sound interface device 8 with a device type "headset," but no specific device id is specified, so that the administrator can listen using any headset 8 (except headset 8 i). The trainee-manager configuration template 61a may further specify labels to be used by the secondary logical audio device W, such as "trainee-manager settings" so that the application 6 and/or user may identify the secondary logical audio device W or the function of the device when the preferred logical audio device W, X, Y, Z is selected for audio input and/or output with the application 6.
The configuration controller 51 preferably uses the configuration template 61 as an input for determining the internal configuration of the virtual crossbar 21 as described below. When available voice interface devices 8 and their device types and/or device identities are determined as may be and/or necessary as further described above, the configuration controller 51 determines a set of configuration templates 61 that match the available voice interface devices 8 to determine a set of voice available interface configurations, i.e., a set of predefined voice interface configurations that may be implemented by the currently available voice interface devices 8. For example, when two sound interface devices 8 having a prescribed device type of "headset" are determined to be available and when one of the sound interface devices has the same equipment identification as the first device placeholder 67, the configuration controller 51 will determine a match for the trainee-administrator configuration template 61 a. In this example, the set of available sound interface configurations would include a "trainee-supervisor configuration".
In response to determining a match of more than one configuration template 61, the configuration controller 51 preferably prompts the user to select a desired sound interface configuration, for example, by causing the computer 1 to provide or display information of the matching configuration template 61, such as a label for the configuration template, or otherwise, or provide an indication to the user of the set of available sound interface configurations. The configuration controller 51 may preferably receive a user response signal indicative of the detected user response and select a sound interface configuration from the set of available sound interface configurations in dependence on the user response signal. The user response signal may indicate, for example, the selected configuration template 61, and the configuration controller 51 may then preferably configure the virtual crossbar 21 to provide audio connections and/or pre-or post-processing as specified by the selected configuration template 61.
In response to determining a single match, configuration controller 51 preferably automatically configures virtual crossbar 21 to provide audio connections and/or pre-or post-processing as specified by the matched configuration template 61, optionally notifying the user. When no match is found, the configuration controller 51 may preferably notify the user accordingly. If it is detected that the secondary logical audio device W has not been selected by any of the applications 6, the configuration controller 51 may preferably discontinue configuring the virtual crossbar switch 21 and/or notify the user. In this example, the configuration controller 51 may preferably perform a pause action when it is subsequently detected that the secondary logical audio device W is selected by the application 6.
By configuring the virtual crossbar 21 according to the matching and/or desired configuration template 61, the configuration controller 51 causes the computer 1 to provide one or more speaker audio signals X according to the sound interface configuration corresponding to the particular configuration template 61s、Ys、ZsAnd/or one or more audio input signals Wi。
It should be noted that in the above example, it is not important whether the trainee's headset 8i is connected to the first primary logical audio device X or any other primary logical audio device Y, Z, because, with many operating systems 5, the application 6 may not otherwise distinguish between the individual logical audio devices W, X, Y, Z other than determining the device name, device type, and/or device identity of the audio device 8 it represents. In the example of the invention implemented by the operating system 5, the operating system 5 provides information such as to which connector 9 the audio device 8 is connected to, such information may be used, i.e. specified and compared in the configuration template 61, to distinguish between different physical sound interface devices 8, rather than or instead of using the device identity of the sound interface device.
Assuming that the softphone application 6a, the trainee's headset 8i and the supervisor's headset 8k are connected as shown in fig. 2, the configuration controller 51 can thus configure the virtual crossbar 21 to provide the audio connections 66a to 66e specified by the trainee-supervisor configuration template 61a and thus implement the virtual crossbar 21:
-receiving a first audio output signal W from the softphone application 6ao(63)；
-from the first audio output signal Wo(66d) Providing a first loudspeaker audio signal X to an audio subsystem 7s(64a) Thereby enabling the first acoustic interface means 8i to be responsive to the first loudspeaker audio signal XsEmitting a first loudspeaker sound wave signal;
-receiving a first microphone audio signal X from the audio subsystem 7 in dependence of a first microphone sound wave signal received via the first sound interface device 8im(62a)；
-from the first microphone audio signal Xm(66b) Providing a first audio input signal W to a softphone application 6ai(65)；
-from said first audio output signal Wo(66e) And a first microphone audio signal Xm(66a) Providing a second loudspeaker audio signal Z to the audio subsystem 7s(64b) Whereby this causes the second sound interface means 8k to be dependent on the second loudspeaker audio signal ZsEmitting a second speaker audio signal;
-from the audio sub-system in dependence of a second microphone audio signal received via said second sound interface means 8kThe system 7 receives the second microphone audio signal Zm(62b) (ii) a And is
-further on the basis of the second microphone audio signal Zm(66c) Providing a first loudspeaker audio signal Xs。
Parenthetical reference numerals have been added above to allow the reader to find the relevant audio sources 62, 63, audio receivers 64, 65 and audio connections 66 in fig. 6. Other examples of configuring the templates 61 b-61 d are shown in fig. 7-9 and further explained below.
The second example configuration template 61b shown in FIG. 7 is a simplification of the trainee-administrator configuration template 61 a. This example specifies audio signal routing according to a "proxy-administrator configuration" that may be preferably used for a use case in which a proxy (user) is engaged in a softphone call using a headset 8i and softphone application 6a executed by computer 1, wherein the administrator of the proxy listens to the call using a further headset 8k but does not speak through headsets 8i, 8 k. Thus, the agent-administrator configuration template 61b omits the third audio connection 66 c. When the virtual crossbar switch 21 is configured to provide the audio connection specified by the agent-administrator configuration template 61b, the configuration controller 51 may thus implement the functionality of the trainee-administrator configured virtual crossbar switch 21 described above, but may not receive the second microphone audio signal ZmNor can it be further dependent on the second microphone audio signal ZmProviding a first loudspeaker audio signal Xs。
The third example configuration template 61c shown in fig. 8 is a further simplification of the agent-manager configuration template 61b and specifies audio signal routing according to a "single headset configuration" that can be preferably used for use examples where the user wants to use a single headset 8i as the sound interface device 8 with the application 6. In the single headset configuration template 61c, the second device placeholder 67b and any device type and/or device identity specified therein as well as the first, third and fifth audio connections 66a, 66c, 66e are omitted. Configuration controller 51 may thus configure virtual crossbar 21 to provide a template 61c for configuration by a single headsetA defined audio connection and thus the function of the virtual crossbar switch 21 configured by the agent-manager as described above, but not the reception of the second microphone audio signal ZmCannot be further based on the second microphone audio signal ZmProviding a first loudspeaker audio signal XsAnd also completely fail to provide the second loudspeaker audio signal Zs。
The fourth example configuration template 61d shown in fig. 9 is an extension of the trainee-manager configuration template 61a, which specifies audio signal routing according to a "dual headset conference configuration" that can be preferably used for use examples where two users want to use each headset 8i, 8k as a sound interface device 8 with a softphone application 6a executed by one and the same computer 1, where the two users should be able to communicate with each other through their headsets 8i, 8k and remote ends. Accordingly, the dual headset conference configuration template 61d further comprises a sixth audio connection 66f connecting the second audio source 62b to the third audio receiver 65, and any device identities specified for the second device placeholder 67b may be omitted. The configuration controller 51 may thus configure the virtual crossbar switch 21 to provide the audio connections specified by the dual headset configuration template 61d and thus implement the virtual crossbar switch 21 as a function of the trainee-supervisor configuration described above, but additionally further dependent on the second microphone audio signal ZmProviding a first audio input signal W to a first application 6aiAnd is not limited by the fact that the sound interface devices 8i, 8k must have a specific device identity.
Those skilled in the art can readily devise and add further examples of the use of the configuration template 61 to further expand the use of multiple sound interface devices 8 with audio applications 6 on the computer 1. Such further configuration templates 61 may specify, for example:
a team educational configuration for a team educational use case, where both a local host using headphones 8 and a remote host connected through softphone application 6a should be able to converse with a local audience through local speakerphone 8, where the microphone signal from speakerphone 8 may or may not be sent to the remote host;
a local-moderator configuration for a local-moderator use case where the local moderator using the headset 8 should be able to talk to the local audience through the local speakerphone 8, where the microphone signal from the speakerphone 8 may or may not be transmitted to the headset 8;
a double-speakerphone configuration for a double-speakerphone use case, in which two user groups should be able to use respective speakerphones 8i, 8k as sound interface means 8 with application programs 6 executed by one and the same computer 1; and
a call-recording configuration for call-recording use cases, wherein the virtual crossbar 21 should provide further two-level logical audio devices W connectable to e.g. the recording application 6b, wherein the virtual crossbar 21 should further transmit audio signals from all involved audio sources to the further two-level logical audio devices W. A further two-level logical audio device W may preferably provide a label comprising a similar text "recorder".
The configuration controller 51 may preferably communicate with the configuration memory 53 to store and/or retrieve some predefined configuration templates 61. The configuration controller 51 may preferably repeatedly check for a match between the stored configuration template 61 and the currently available voice interface device 8 and/or the device type and/or device identity of the available voice interface device 8, and may thus repeatedly determine a set of available voice interface configurations. When the set of available sound interface configurations changes, the configuration controller 51 may preferably notify the user and optionally prompt for a selection when the entire set of configurations includes more than one sound interface configuration. The configuration memory 53 may further store an indication of a preferred sound interface configuration, for example in the form of a corresponding configuration template 61 and/or a configuration template 61 referring to what has been stored, the configuration controller 51 may preferably automatically select the preferred sound interface configuration whenever the set of available sound interface configurations changes to a set comprising more than one sound interface configuration (wherein the preferred sound interface configuration is 1). The configuration memory 53 may store indications of a plurality of preferred sound interface configurations together with respective relative priorities, and the configuration controller 51 may preferably automatically select a preferred sound interface configuration having a higher priority when the available set of sound interface configurations comprises more than one preferred sound interface configuration. For each of the one or more preferred voice interface configurations, the configuration memory 53 may further store one or more preferred conditions, each preferred condition specifying a condition under which a respective preferred voice interface configuration can be selected, and the configuration controller 51 may preferably disregard any preferred voice interface configuration for which at least one preferred condition is not met.
The conditions specified by the preferred conditions may include, for example:
the computer 1 is participating in a softphone or telephone,
the computer 1 is not participating in a softphone or telephone,
one or more audio interface equipment 8 defined in a configuration template 61 representing the respective preferred sound interface configuration participate in softphones or telephones, and/or
None of the audio interface equipment 8 specified in the configuration template 61 representing the respective preferred sound interface configuration participates in a softphone or a telephone.
The predefined configuration template 61 may be written into the configuration memory 51 at the same instance as, for example, the execution instructions of the mid-level application and/or the virtual crossbar 21 are written into the memory 4, for example, at the time of installation of the mid-level application and/or the virtual crossbar 21 on the computer 1. Or in addition, the mid-level application, virtual crossbar 21 and/or other software on the computer 1 may allow the user to generate, delete and/or edit the predefined configuration templates 61 and the indication of the preferred sound interface configuration and any associated priorities so that they may be subsequently written or updated to the configuration memory 53. The configuration memory 53 is preferably non-volatile and may comprise, for example, the memory 4.
Fig. 10 shows details of an audio device 8 which may be used as a sound interface device for a computer 1 and/or a method according to the invention. The audio device 8 shown is embodied as a headset, which is merely an example of the audio device 8. In other embodiments, audio device 8 may be, for example, a headset, or a speakerphone. Referring to headphones 8 below, any features or characteristics of headphones 8 may be similarly applied to other types of audio devices 8. The headset 8 comprises two speakers 101, a microphone 102, a control unit 103 and a set of control elements 104. In some embodiments, one or both of the speakers 101 may be omitted, such that the headset 8 functions only as a mono headset or sound input device. In some embodiments, the microphone 102 may be omitted, such that the headset 8 serves only as a sound output device. In some embodiments, the control element 104 may be omitted. In some embodiments, the headset 8 may include more than two speakers 101 and/or more than one microphone 102.
The headset 8 may communicate with the computer 1 through a wired or wireless connection 105, thus exchanging device audio signals 106, 107 and device control signals 108, 109 with the operating system 5 and/or one or more applications 6 executing on the computer 1. As shown in fig. 2, the headphone 8 may be used as a headphone 8i in a call made through the softphone application 6 a. In this scenario, microphone 102 serves as a sound input device that provides a device audio input signal 106 to computer 1 in accordance with a microphone sound signal M received by microphone 102, and computer 1 provides a first microphone audio signal X, described further above in accordance with device audio input signal 106 and microphone sound signal Mm. Accordingly, the computer 1 is based on the first loudspeaker audio signal XsThe device audio output signal 107 is provided to the loudspeaker 101, the loudspeaker 101 acting as a corresponding sound output device in dependence of the device audio output signal 107 and the first loudspeaker audio signal X, respectivelysA loudspeaker sound signal S is emitted. Thus, any application 6 connected with the first logical audio device X may use the microphone 102 to receive the user's voice and/or the speaker 101 to provide audio signals to the user.
The control unit 103 preferably controls the provision of the device audio input signal 106 and/or the speaker sound signal S in dependence of the device control signal 108 received from the computer 1 and/or in dependence of a user action detected by the one or more control elements 104. The control unit 103 may thus allow a user to adjust, for example, the level of the device audio input signal 106 and/or the loudspeaker sound signal S and to mute the microphone 102 by operating one or more control elements 104 of the computer 1 and/or the user interface 52. The control unit 103 may further provide one or more control commands from the first set of control commands according to the user actions detected by the control element 104 to the computer 1 in the device control signal 108. The first set of control commands preferably comprises call-termination commands and may preferably comprise further control commands, such as call-accept commands. The device controller 3 and/or the operating system 5 may preferably provide one or more control commands 109 to the softphone application 6a in accordance with the control commands 108 received from the headset 8 to forward the received control commands 108 to the softphone application 6a, which softphone application 6a may preferably execute the forward commands 109 and thus, for example, accept an incoming call or terminate an ongoing call. The control unit 103 may thus allow the user to accept or terminate the phone using the softphone application 6a by pressing the respective button 104 or performing other actions that have been detected by one or more control elements 104.
Many known operating systems 5 inherently treat each audio device 8 as a synthesizing device, which can exchange device audio signals 106, 107 and control commands 108 with the computer 1. Such an operating system 5 typically automatically recognizes a limited set of control commands 108 and forwards recognized control commands 108 received from an audio device 8 to the same application 6a, and the operating system 5 forwards audio output signals 106 received from a particular audio device 8 to the same application 6 a. The limited set of control commands 108 generally includes basic audio control commands 108, e.g., audio level commands and/or microphone mute commands, and/or basic telephony control commands 108, e.g., call-accept commands and/or call-terminate commands. In the scenario shown in fig. 1, the operating system 5 may forward the call-accept command and the call-terminate command received from the headset 8i to the softphone application 6a, for example automatically by the logical audio device X. Some operating systems 5 may broadcast call-accept commands and call-terminate commands received from the headset 8 to all application systems 6. The operating system 5 preferably provides the forwarded control commands 109 to the application 6 through an API of the audio subsystem 6 so that the application 6 can receive the control commands 108, 109 in a standardized manner, i.e. independently of the type of audio device 8 providing the control commands 108. Many operating systems 5 further-and in the same way-forward control commands 109, e.g. call-notification commands, provided by the application 6 to the specific audio device 8 connected to the specific application 6.
In the computer 1 and method according to the invention as shown in fig. 2, the virtual crossbar 21 may preferably forward at least some control commands 108, 109 between the application 6 and the audio device 8 to ensure that the application 6 and the audio device 8 are running as desired by the user. In a scenario where at most only one audio device 8 is connected to each application 6, the virtual crossbar 21 may enable the forwarding of control commands 108, 109 simply by making the control commands follow the same route as the audio signals. In scenarios where multiple audio devices 8 are connected to a single application 6, for example, when the virtual crossbar 21 is used for the trainee-manager configuration shown in fig. 6, simple forwarding and/or playback through the operating system 5 can produce unexpected side effects. For example, both the trainee and the administrator may be talking via the softphone application 6a using the headset 8i and the headset 8k, respectively. In this example, the trainee desires to have full control over the call, while the supervisor desires to be able to affect the call only indirectly through the trainee; however, if either user, e.g. an administrator, performs a user action recognized by the respective headset 8i, 8k as a call-termination behavior, the respective headset 8i, 8k may provide a call-termination command 108 to the computer 1, in response to which the operating system 5 and/or the virtual crossbar 21 may recognize and forward the call- termination command 108, 109 to the softphone application 6a, the softphone application 6a thus terminating the call independent of the user identity.
In the trainee-supervisor configuration, the virtual crossbar 21 may thus preferably forward the call- termination command 108, 109 and/or other control commands 108, 109 to the softphone application 6a only if the received control command 108 originates from the trainee's headset 8 i. Accordingly, in the trainee-supervisor configuration, the virtual crossbar 21 may preferably ignore the call-termination command 108 and/or other control commands 108 when the control commands 108 originate from the supervisor's headset 8k, thus avoiding the control commands 108 from reaching the softphone application 6 a. Alternatively, the virtual crossbar 21 may react to one or more control commands 108 from the administrator's headset 8k in other ways. For example, upon receiving the call-termination command 108 from the administrator's headset 8k, the virtual crossbar 21 may treat the administrator's headset 8k as unavailable, thus reestablishing a set of available sound interface configurations, as further explained above.
The virtual crossbar 21 may preferably forward the control commands 108, 109 according to the currently selected sound interface configuration. The forwarding of control commands 108, 109 may preferably be specified in one or more configuration templates 61, and the configuration controller 51 may use the configuration templates 61 as input to determine whether a particular control command 108 should be forwarded and in what form and/or to which recipient 6, 8 the control command 108 should be forwarded. Thus, the virtual crossbar 21 may generally receive the first device control signal 108 (which is indicative of a first user action detected through the first voice interface device 8) and provide the second device control signal 109 to the application 6 in accordance with the first device control signal 108 and the currently selected voice interface configuration. Virtual crossbar 21 may further delay providing second device control signal 109 until after receiving third device control signal 108, which indicates that a second user action is detected through second sound interface device 8. This allows the virtual crossbar 21 to, for example, suspend terminating a call until all users of the headset 8 involved perform a "terminate call" action. This may be preferred when the computer 1 is used in a dual-headset conferencing configuration 61 d.
Virtual crossbar 21 may preferably further repeat or provide a plurality of device control signals 108 to a plurality of audio devices 8 according to device control signals 109 received from application 6. In a dual-headset conferencing configuration, for example, the virtual crossbar 21 may provide a respective call-notification control command 108 to each connected headset 8i, 8k, in accordance with the call-notification control command 109 received from the softphone application 6 a. Thus, the virtual crossbar 21 may generally receive the fourth device control signal 109 from the first application 6a and provide the fifth device control signal 108 to the first and/or second sound interface devices 8i, 8k, 8 in accordance with the fourth device control signal 109 and the selected sound interface configuration 61.
Many known operating systems 5 and/or device controllers 3 allow devices, such as audio device 8, to register one or more device types on computer 1, thus allowing application programs 6 to execute on computer 1 to identify the device with which application program 6 is associated. For example, many softphone applications 6a may be connected to devices registered as audio communication devices, thus allowing the user to select only the sound interface device 8 from these devices, while ignoring other types of devices, such as mice, keyboards, etc. This concept generally makes it easier for applications 6 and users of the computer 1 to use different types of devices. Hereinafter, the device type "audio communication device" or "ACD" is used to represent one or more device types that are typically recognized by softphone application 6a as being suitable for use with sound interface device 8. Conversely, device type "non-ACD" is used to represent other device types. The particular device type and/or method of registering the device type on the computer 1 may vary depending on the type of computer 1 and/or the type of operating system 5. Nevertheless, one skilled in the art should be able to readily determine which particular device type will qualify as an ACD for a particular computer 1 having a particular operating system 5. When a device registers a particular device type on the computer 1, the device controller 3 and/or operating system 5 typically propagates the device type to the application system 6. In the example of audio device 8, operating system 5 may propagate the registered device type as a feature of primary logical audio device X, Y, Z on behalf of individual audio device 8.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the virtual crossbar switch 21 may preferably register a different device type for the secondary logical audio device W than the device type registered by the one or more primary logical audio devices X, Y, Z, the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z being connected to the secondary logical audio device W through the virtual crossbar switch 21. This allows the virtual crossbar 21 to facilitate the exchange of audio signals between devices having a particular registered device type and applications 6 that otherwise do not provide audio connectivity to devices having a particular registered device type. For example, the device may register to "hide" this type of device, e.g. a non-ACD device type, and further have an interface allowing the device to exchange audio signals with the computer 1. Accordingly, the operating system 5 may provide a primary logical audio device X, Y, Z that represents a "hidden" device. In the case where the hidden device is of a non-ACD device type, the softphone application 6a typically does not allow the user to select the hidden device as the sound interface device 8 for use in a softphone call. However, the virtual crossbar 21 may be configured to provide a secondary logical audio device W of the "standard" device type, such as the ACD device type, for example, by using the corresponding configuration template 61 as an input, the virtual crossbar 21 may also be configured to connect to the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z representing the hidden device and route audio signals between the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z and the secondary logical audio device W, so that the user may indirectly select the hidden device for use as the sound interface device 8, for example, in a soft phone call through the application 6a, and the user may then use the hidden device, for example, for a soft phone call through the application 6a, by selecting the provided secondary logical audio device W. The virtual crossbar 21 may thus provide device type conversion for the audio device 8 connected to the computer 1.
The audio device 8 may register a standard device type on the computer 1, and the virtual crossbar switch 21 may be configured to provide a secondary logical audio device W having the standard device type to connect to the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z representing the audio device 8 and route audio signals between the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z and the secondary logical audio device W. In this example, the operating system 5 may make both the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z and the secondary logical audio device W available to, for example, the softphone application 6a so that the user may view the logical audio device W, X, Y, Z as an available choice for the sound interface device 8 to be used in, for example, a softphone call made through the application 6 a. In a sense, the audio device 8 will thus appear twice in the list of available sound interface devices 8, and thus both a direct selection and an indirect selection are available. To avoid user confusion with the particular application 6, the audio device 8 may preferably register a hidden device type that is not recognized or filtered out by the particular application 6, and the virtual crossbar 21 may preferably be configured to perform the device type conversion described above. Thus, the audio device 8 will appear only once in the list of available sound interface devices 8, i.e. as a two-level logical audio device W, and is therefore only available in the indirect selection. For example, to hide the respective primary logical audio device X, Y, Z from the softphone application 6a, the audio device 8 may register a non-automatic call distributor type on the computer 1, the virtual crossbar 21 may be configured to provide a secondary logical audio device W having an automatic call distributor type, and may also be configured to connect to a non-automatic call distributor primary logical audio device X, Y, Z on behalf of the audio device 8 and route audio signals between the primary logical audio device X, Y, Z and the secondary logical audio device W.
In some embodiments, the headset 8 or other audio device 8 may be adapted to register two or more different device types on the computer 1. The audio device 8 may preferably select the enrolment device type in dependence on detecting a user action and/or detecting one or more predefined control commands 108 from the computer 1. Audio device 8 may preferably default to a standard mode in which audio device 8 registers a standard device type on the computer, e.g., automatic call allocation device type, and is therefore available for a specific application, e.g., softphone application 6a, by direct selection. The audio device 8 may preferably be able to switch to a hidden mode, wherein the audio device 8 registers a hidden device type, e.g. a non-ACD device type, on the computer and may thus correspond to a particular correspondence only by indirect selectionAvailable with programs, such as softphone application 6 a. Audio device 8 may preferably invoke a hidden mode (stealth mode) upon detecting a user action, such as detecting operation of control element 104 and/or detecting a predefined voice input to microphone 102. Alternatively or additionally, the audio device 8 may preferably invoke the hidden mode according to predefined control commands 108 received from the computer 1. Virtual crossbar 21 may, for example, monitor one or more computer status signals S from operating system 5 and/or audio subsystem 7o、SaAnd in response to receiving a notification from operating system 5 indicating that audio device 8 or other device is connected to computer 1, virtual crossbar 21 may provide a hide mode command 108 to the newly connected audio device 8 or other device, and audio device 8 or other device may then invoke hide mode in response to receiving hide mode command 108. In some embodiments, audio device 8 may invoke the hidden mode upon startup and switch to the standard mode upon failure to receive the hidden mode command 108 within a predefined time period after startup and/or upon detection of connection to computer 1. In some embodiments, audio device 8 may provide hide-investigate commands 108 to computer 1, and virtual crossbar 21 may return hide-mode commands 108 upon receipt of hide-investigate commands 108 by operating system 5. When switching from standard mode to hidden mode, the audio device 8 may be required to first deregister the standard-mode device type on the computer 1, and then to register the hidden-mode device type on the computer 1 to have the operating system change the device type of the corresponding primary logical audio device X, Y, Z.
The one or more configuration templates 61 may specify hidden device types, e.g., non-ACD device types, for the one or more device placeholders 67 to allow a respective audio device configuration to be available only when a respective number of audio devices 8 with hidden-mode capability are connected to the computer 1 and available. The specified device type may indicate further characteristics of the device, such as whether audio device 8 should be wireless or wired, whether audio device 8 should provide a binaural or monaural signal S to the user, and/or whether microphone 102 of the audio device should be muted. Accordingly, the configuration controller 51 may preferably determine a change in the available sound interface device 8 when the microphone 102 of the connected audio device 8 is muted or unmuted.
The control unit 103 of the headset 8 may preferably comprise a USB device controller (not shown) with electronic power and/or program code allowing the control unit 103 to communicate as a USB device with a USB host device of the computer 1. When connected to the computer 1, the USB device controller preferably registers one or more USB interfaces of the "audio" class to be able to exchange respective audio signals 106, 107 with the USB host apparatus of the computer 1 and thus act as an audio interface between the computer 1 and the loudspeaker 101 and/or microphone 102 of the headset 8. The USB device controller may preferably further register one or more USB interfaces of the "HID" class to be able to exchange specific device control signals 108, indicative of e.g. audio control commands and/or telephony control commands, with the USB host apparatus of the computer 1. The USB device controller may preferably register one or more hidden classes of USB interfaces whose parameters allow the operating system 5 and/or one or more applications 6, in particular softphone applications 6a, to identify a headset of standard device type, for example an ACD device type. The latter may apply the headset 8 with hide-mode capability also in standard mode, whereas in standard mode the headset 8 preferably registers one or more hide classes of USB interfaces whose parameters prevent the operating system 5 and/or the application 6, in particular the softphone application 6a, from recognizing the headset 8 with a standard device type, e.g. ACD device type. Virtual crossbar 21 may thus be allowed to perform device type conversion as further explained above.
The computer 1, the device controller 3 and the memory 4, and the control unit 103 are preferably implemented as digital circuits that operate digital signals, but any part thereof may be implemented as analog circuits that operate analog signals. Such functional components or circuits may include analog-to-digital and/or digital-to-analog converters, as desired. The digital circuit functional blocks may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or any combination thereof. The digital circuitry may perform the functions of a number of functional blocks in a parallel and/or interleaved order, which may be distributed in a suitable manner among a number of hardware units, such as signal processors, microcontrollers and other integrated circuits. The mid-level application 21 may also include a plurality of modules that may be installed on the computer 1 at different times and/or downloaded and executed separately via the operating system 5.
The detailed description and specific examples, given herein to indicate preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and are, therefore, to be considered as illustrations of the invention. Further applications of the invention, as well as advantageous modifications and variations of this particular embodiment, will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Any modification or variation mentioned herein is not meant to limit the scope of the invention.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein, which may be embodied in other ways within the scope of the subject matter defined in the following claims. For example, the features of the described embodiments may be combined arbitrarily to adapt the device according to the invention to specific requirements.
Any reference signs and names in the claims are not intended to limit their scope.

Claims (15)

1. A method of operating a computer (1), the computer (1) being controlled by an operating system (5), the operating system (5) providing an audio subsystem (7), the audio subsystem (7) allowing a plurality of applications (6) executed by the computer (1) to exchange audio signals (X) with a plurality of sound interface devices (8)s、Ys、Zs、Xm、Ym、Zm) The method comprises the following steps:
-receiving a first audio output signal (W) from a first application (6a)o)；
-from said first audio output signal (W)o) Providing a first speaker audio signal (X) to the audio subsystem (7)s) Thereby causing the first sound interface means (8i) to be dependent on said first loudspeaker audio signal (X)s) Emitting a first loudspeaker sound signal (S);
-receiving a first microphone audio signal (X) from the audio subsystem (7) in dependence of a first microphone sound signal received by the first sound interface device (8i)m)；
-from the first microphone audio signal (X)m) Providing a first audio input signal (W) to the first application (6a)i) (ii) a And
-from said first audio output signal (W)o) And the first microphone audio signal (X)m) Providing a second speaker audio signal (Z) to the audio subsystem (7)s) Thereby causing a second sound interface device (8k) to be dependent on the second loudspeaker audio signal (Z)s) A second speaker sound signal (S) is emitted.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
-receiving a second microphone audio signal (Z) from the audio subsystem (7) in dependence of a second microphone sound signal received by the second sound interface device (8k)m) (ii) a And is
-further on the basis of the second microphone audio signal (Z)m) Providing the first loudspeaker audio signal (X)s)。
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:
-from said first audio output signal (W)o) And/or the first microphone audio signal (X)m) A second audio input signal is provided to a second application (6 b).
4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the first and second sound interface devices (8i, 8k) comprises a headset, an earphone, a handset, or a speakerphone, and wherein each of the first and second sound interface devices (8i, 8k) comprises a sound output device (101) and a sound input device (102).
5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first application (6a) comprises a softphone.
6. The method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:
-determining, for each of said first and second sound interface devices (8i, 8k), a device connection status indicating whether the respective sound interface device (8i, 8k) is available for audio signals (X) through said audio subsystem (7)s、Ys、Zs、Xm、Ym、Zm) Exchange of (2);
-determining a set of available sound interface configurations (61) based on the device connection status; and is
-providing the first speaker audio signal (X) according to the set of available sound interface configurations (61)s) The first audio input signal (W)i) And/or the second loudspeaker audio signal (Z)s)。
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:
-determining for each sound interface device (8) a device type, the respective device connection status of each said sound interface device being indicative of the audio signal (X) for passing through said audio subsystem (7)s、Ys、Zs、Xm、Ym、Zm) Availability of the exchange of (1); and is
-determining the set of available sound interface configurations (61) further depending on the device type.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the set of available sound interface configurations (61) includes two or more different sound interface configurations (61) from the group consisting of a single headset configuration (61c), an agent-manager configuration (61b), a trainee-manager configuration (61a), and a dual headset conference configuration (61 d).
9. The method of claim 6, further comprising:
-providing an indication of the set of available sound interface configurations (61) to a user;
-receiving a user response signal indicative of the detected user response;
-selecting a sound interface configuration (61) from the set of available sound interface configurations (61) in dependence of the user response signal; and is
-providing the first speaker audio signal (X) further in accordance with the selected sound interface configuration (61)s) The first audio input signal (W)i) And/or the second loudspeaker audio signal (Z)s)。
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the user response is detected by the first or second sound interface device (8i, 8 k).
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
-receive a first device control signal indicative of a first user action detected by a first one of the first and second sound interface devices (8i, 8 k); and is
-providing a second device control signal for the first application (6a) in dependence of the first device control signal and the selected sound interface configuration (61).
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
-delaying the provision of the second device control signal until after receiving a third device control signal indicative of a second user action detected by the respective other of the first and second sound interface devices (8i, 8 k).
13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
-receive a fourth device control signal from the first application (6 a); and is
-providing a fifth device control signal for the first and/or the second sound interface device (8i, 8k) in dependence of the fourth device control signal and the selected sound interface configuration (61).
14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for causing a computer (1) to perform the method according to any one of the preceding claims.
15. A computer (1) comprising:
-an operating system (5) providing an audio subsystem (7), said audio subsystem (7) allowing to exchange audio signals (X) with a plurality of sound interface devices (8) through a plurality of applications (6) executed by said computer (1)s、Ys、Zs、Xm、Ym、Zm)；
-a processor (2) for executing the operating system (5) and the plurality of applications (6);
-a first connector connected to a first sound interface device (8 i); and
-a second connector connected to a second sound interface device (8k),
-wherein the computer (1) further comprises an intermediate application (21) adapted to:
-receiving a first audio output signal (W) from a first application (6a)o)；
-from said first audio output signal (W)o) Providing the audio subsystem (7) with a first loudspeaker audio signal (X)s) Thereby causing said first sound interface means (8i) to be dependent on said first loudspeaker audio signal (X)s) Emitting a first loudspeaker sound signal (S);
-receiving a first microphone audio signal (X) from the audio subsystem (7) in dependence of a first microphone sound signal received by the first sound interface device (8i)m)；
-from the first microphone audio signal (X)m) Providing the first application (6a) with a first audio input signal (W)i) (ii) a And is
-from said first audio output signal (W)o) And the first microphone audio signal (X)m) Providing the audio subsystem (7) with a second loudspeaker audio signal (Z)s) Thereby causing said second sound interface means (8k) to be dependent on said second loudspeaker audio signal (Z)s) A second speaker sound signal (S) is emitted.
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